The mean age for battery-related issues was 3.9 years and 60.2% of kids admitted were boys. The incidents fell into the following categories:

Ingestion – 76.6 per cent

Nasal cavity insertion – 10.2 per cent

Mouth exposure – 7.5 per cent

Ear canal insertion – 5.7 per cent

The incidents are no laughing matter, as a swallowed button cell can generate sufficient current to burn a hole in a child’s oesophagus, from the inside, without the child displaying any obvious symptoms. Acid can also injure. Even batteries that appear depleted, inasmuch as they can no longer power electrical devices, can inflict these injuries.

Eight percent of battery-related incidents lead to surgery to remove the shiny little power source, which kids apparently swallow because they resemble sweets and look appealingly shiny.

The study’s authors say such injuries are easy to prevent: securing the battery compartments of your gadgets and disposing of old batteries promptly should do the trick. ®